Soul in Snowflake
by dameofdamnation
Summary: Blossom is dead, leaving her sisters in an already deep pool of sorrow. They have one chance to revive her and save the world, but for that to happen, they need to work together with the RowdyRuff Boys. The boys who used to be theirs.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey y'all, welcome to the first PPG fanfic I've published on FanFiction. It might feel cringey since it's actually an old idea that I decided to go with. The idea appeared in one of my darkest days… just kidding. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PowerPuff Girls; they belong to Craig McCracken. The song used in this chapter, "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan, also doesn't belong to me.**

* * *

Sometimes, she wondered if life was fair even when deep down inside, she'd like to believe that it was. It was a known fact. The cause of unfairness was because of unbalance… for example, you did too many evil things and the world would be unfair for you, but she'd witnessed with her own eyes that sometimes, the rule didn't function properly.

Sometimes, even when evil people stayed evil and did a lot more evil deeds, they were still blessed. And those were the times she became confused and doubtful; those were the times she needed guidance… those were the times she came to _her_ to clear her confusion.

Her eyes snapped shut briefly, involuntarily blocking out the image she so desperately needed to draw. Her mind needed it to fill her want, but her heart couldn't handle it.

She had always been a soft girl.

Her fingers gripped the pencil tighter and she tried her best to avoid using her extra strength and breaking the item. She let the image ambush her mind and took a few deep breaths.

'I've done this before. I can do this again.' She thought, calming her nerves and pushing the tears back.

She glanced down and the gears in her head turned as her hand continued to move the pencil over the half-filled, white surface. The grey tip left grey traces in certain spots, some darker than others due to her shaking.

Baby blue eyes blinked down at her creation. Cotton pink eyes, so dull and so… lifeless. The very things that haunted her dreams every night.

* * *

_Thud, thud, thud._

A lone sweat rolled down the side of her face, going unnoticed. The second sweat followed close after, but was also ignored. Her emerald green eyes focused on one thing only.

Punches after punches she threw at the red punching bag that swung ferociously at her, which she welcomed with an uppercut kick.

When the swinging bag came back at her for the second time, she collected all her human energy onto her right fist and slammed it onto the punching bag.

It stopped swinging, angering her to no ends. She channeled more anger the more she stared at the punching back. With a growl signaling the start of another round, she took a deep breath and went back to assaulting the sturdy bag made to help her let out some steam.

But all that happened was she started remembering.

All the hateful things other people did, their words and… all the things she hated about herself. She had just started to remember all that she'd done to her sisters when suddenly, a familiar image crushed down in her mind, breaking her out of her vengeful reverie.

She thought about the bitches, mostly their arrogant, devil's incarnation of an asshole She betted that he'd be smirking victoriously if he knew, mocking them and maybe even spat a few curses on her–

She took two steps back, and it wasn't because she wanted to avoid the swinging bag. The bag swung till it stopped; her gaze was on the same spot all the time, but she was staring ahead at nothing in particular, lost in her own thoughts. She was taken aback.

_"You know what's inside of you. You know what you are. All you need to know is how to direct your hateful and vengeful spirit in a better way. You need to take all the energy from the negative side and transfer it to your positive side, changing it into a positive energy… like an extra superpower."_

'Deep breaths, deep breaths. Clear your thoughts…' she inhaled slowly, '…and let go.'

One thing that she was also right about… was that a memorable person's words stayed even when they didn't.

* * *

Her eyes closely resembled murky amethyst as they watched the children in park play along. A particular–or should she say, two particular children held her attention.

There were two twin girls near the see-saw. One of them was crying while the other one was scolding her it seemed, as she had a finger raised in a reprimanding style. She observed as the scolding girl's features softened and she hugged the girl.

The scene blew her away. The sweetness of it did nothing, it was the actions instead that had shocked her to the core due to the heavy resemblances they had to her own past.

They were very familiar, as she had witnessed it in a first person's point of view. She had been the crying girl, and the scolding girl–

She shook her head, pulling her knees up on the bench and putting her head on top of it. She felt as if someone was trying to bring up all those memories she had of _her_, but she supposed that was what happened when she went to one of the places one of those memories was born in.

Happy memories, sad ones… she was never one to reminisce all the bad times in her lives as she's always too busy expend her time in the world on fun and entertainment.

So how did she get caught in a mess of her own feelings?

The answer was simple.

She was still human, even if she could blast lasers out of her eyes, flew like a bird, and land a nasty blow.

When misfortune happens after another misfortune, all the negative feelings would stack and she wouldn't have had time to sort it all out.

She could only surrender.

Of course, she wouldn't give up on life.

Life's a gift and it's too short.

And hers was even more.

She was suddenly reminded of a quote she'd once read on the internet, and one that she had read out loud from behind her that day. She'd never guessed that it would stuck to the deepest part inside of her, but even more than that, she didn't expect that it would be brought up one day.

_"You'd never miss a person if it weren't for the memories they'd left."_

* * *

_/I will remember you/_

She would remember. How could she not?

_/Will you remember me?_

_Don't let your life pass you by_

_weep not for the memories/_

She didn't know if there was an afterlife, or if she would remember her, remember her past life. She wouldn't weep for the memories they'd created, the result of an unbreakable bond.

_/Remember the good times that we had?_

_I let them slip away from us when things got bad_

_How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun_

_Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one/_

Even though she wasn't one to hold a grudge for so long and let the grudge replace the many good memories, even if it was normal to do, she still regretted for being mad at her; she thought–no, she knew she could do better than that.

_She_, on the other hand, would be the one smiling as if she'd already forgotten their fight.

_/I'm so tired, but I can't sleep/_

As the song had stated, she was exhausted even if all she'd done was stare blankly at the wall while listening to songs that matched her mood.

She'd put it on shuffle, but she honestly didn't expect that out of a thousand of songs in her phone, it was the one to play. It almost felt like destiny filling a prophecy.

_/Standin' on the edge of something much too deep_

_It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word_

_We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard/_

She often caught herself almost falling into the dark, pitch black hole that she knew only led to deep, sorrowful memories. She felt so… full of many things that were unidentified. The accuracy of the song was starting to affirm her opinion of destiny's doing.

_/I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to lose_

_Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose_

_Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night_

_You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light/_

Loving used to be such simple thing, such harmless thing since they're fully aware of their abilities and… gifts. And thus, the consequence shrunk to the size of sand.

But now what had happened to her, to all of them, she's afraid, might had tarnished their definitions of love and broken their trust, thus making "loving" a somewhat impossible thing to do.

She remembered all the dark nights where endless tossing happened and recurring nightmares troubled them till the end of night.

Oh, how she missed the way she'd be the light to guide them in the darkness, lugging them to their feet forcefully because she knew of the good it would do, even though she'd been–if not was still–caged by darkness itself.

_/Weep not for the memories,_

_Weep not for the memories…/_

She could hear the song drawing to an end and felt heaviness on her eyelids, forcing them to close. She tried to bring the happy memories she was remembering just before she fell asleep, but found herself being promised to a wonderful dream as she heard _her_ soft laughter waft in the air and the sounds of waves crashing by.

* * *

She let out a quick breath, eyes focusing ahead. She took steady strides, not too slow yet not too fast. She tried pushing them down. They were devils; they wanted to go out, to control her.

She threw the garland of pink roses on the mound of earth, cursing later for letting her body move without her consent and apologizing afterwards for saying the curse.

She imagined _her_ observing her curiously from wherever _she_ was, and giggling at her ridiculousness.

She pulled out the thick, rolled paper which was adorned with beautiful, baby pink, curly letters. She'd edited it also before printing it so that there was a curvy, royal, golden border on the paper.

She had come prepared–no matter how incredulous it might seem, despite being a superhero.

She knelt on the ground while shrugging the bag strap, the only thing that held her bag from falling, off her shoulder. She pulled out a duct tape and scissor, not in the mood for using any power she had.

Finally, after gluing the paper on top of the headstone, letting the wind pick it up and tease it, her eyes trailed each word, like she'd done many times beforehand.

_"Voice like an angel's_

_Eyes of a goddess_

_Heart of pure gold_

_The girl with a ribbon_

_When darkness invaded_

_You kept standing tall_

_Like a lighthouse in a storm_

_You led us despite everything_

_All those advices_

_All those commands_

_Your face, your rosy eyes_

_Were planted in my mind_

_How could we forget_

_Our fallen comrade_

_Our leader and commander_

_Our dearly beloved_

_You shall be remembered_

_You shall be cherished_

_Till we reunite_

_Our Blossom, our sister"_

She felt a tear stinging the corner of her eye, paying no attention to the pink rose petals blowing around her as a form of comfort in the shape of a mini tornado.

No more leader girl.

No more nerds.

No more bossy "mother".

Even if there were still five of them, it felt too quiet. And she usually liked quiet.

She let out a huge breath, dropping down to sit on her haunches. She rested her head on her knees.

It was too much.

The ground beneath her felt cold. Her skin identified it as marble tiles. The cool breeze whirling around her did not help, but it wasn't like she disliked the cold.

She loved it. She adored it.

Yet something felt out of place.

There was not a single marble tile in her house.

Where is she anyway?

Her ears picked up on the sound of waves crashing nearby.

Her body felt heavy, but light on the inside. She tried moving her fingers, but they refused to cooperate with her.

Her eyelids felt too heavy. She needed to see her surroundings.

Where was she?


	2. Chapter 2

Buttercup woke up easily that day. She'd actually woken up an hour earlier, but decided that she had enough time lazying in bed. All those time were spent mulling over the fact that today, they would face their demons like any other day, with a special exception–Blossom wouldn't be coming to Townsville High anymore.

She wouldn't have to fake a smile, put up walls of steel around her and turn deaf towards every gossiper's words. She wouldn't have to suffer and walk back and forth in that hell, so Buttercup was grateful.

One of the broken puffs had found eternal peace.

Groaning at the sudden realization that she would have the responsibilities on her shoulders since the role had been moved due to the fall of their leader, she begrudgingly sat up, stretching her limbs until she felt physically better.

As she walked down the hallway to Bunny's room, she started to wonder why Blossom always had to wake Bunny up. She could just let her rest for a while, panic and then quickly got ready with her super powers. Then she realized.

'Shit. Of course.' Buttercup rolled her eyes at her idiocy.

How could she forget about the very thing that tormented her soul every second wherever she was? Not to mention that her sisters were going through the same thing.

Out of all the weaknesses in the world, Buttercup never thought that the stupidest and least likely to happen became the one who striped her of her invincibility.

Never underestimate the littlest thing, she supposed.

"Bunny! Are you awake? You better be if you don't want me to drag your sorry–"

The door swung open, revealing Bunny's empty amethyst eyes.

'Like an amethyst that's lost its shine.' Buttercup noted.

"You okay?"

She shrugged, "Eh. I don't feel like... usual."

"Good." She shot an eyebrow upward at her older sister's response. "It'd be one hell of an assignment to keep you on your feet."

She snorted a reply but smiled genuinely nonetheless at her sister. But then her face fell.

"Do we really have to go?" She mumbled, pouting.

"We already had a week off. I think that's enough time and besides, they'd be suspicious... even though it was most likely to happen." She said pointedly at her after she stared incredulously at Buttercup's words.

"Sucks." She drawled dryly.

"I know." The green-eyed girl nodded in response, arms crossed and eyes closed, as if contemplating the misery.

When she opened her eyes, she found Bunny scanning her from head to toe with a weirdly blank look.

"What?"

"Buck, have you showered?" She said, accusingly.

Buttercup was taken aback. "No."

With that, the black-haired girl zipped to her room, leaving her sister laughing in the halls.

"Bubbles, for the sixth time, flip the frickin' pancakes!" Breeze scowled, reprimanding the blonde girl for what seemed to be the sixth time.

"Oh right, right! Sorry! I'm super sorry!" Bubbles replied nervously, flipping the pancakes.

Breeze rolled her eyes before shoving a spoonful of cereal in chocolate milk into her mouth. Bell stayed silent as she looked down at her unappealing, stack of half-burnt pancakes. She scrunched her nose and leaned back into her chair, pushing the plate away with one hand.

She looked up when she saw Bunny skipping down the stairs with both hands in the pockets.

"Mornin', ladies." She greeted them in a bored tone.

They all–including Bubbles–whirled their heads simultaneously and watched her movements as if she was a new species.

Bunny frowned, "Stop that."

Bubbles blinked, Breeze shrugged and Bell resumed her less-than-half-hearted eating. Bunny scoffed as she pulled a chair out. She smirked when she saw Buttercup zipping past her once again. She sat on the chair across her, a bowl of milk and a box of cereal in front of her.

"Running late, Buck?"

Buttercup gave her the stink eye before moving on with her breakfast.

"Girls..." Bubbles started suddenly, changing the atmosphere.

They knew that Bubbles was a soft-hearted girl, so the topic would definitely be emotional, especially after what had taken place... they were actually quite surprised the prior events and the start of their new hell hadn't broken the girl.

"Do you think they'll find out?" She said, barely above a whisper.

"Which–which 'they'? The teachers, our classmates, or_ they_ they." Bunny gulped, shrugging before lowering herself onto her seat.

Buttercup pursed her lips, never in a million years would she ever show a sign of weakness, not even when her heart felt pricked by billions of needles continuously. "Every sign of weakness is every ten percent of your enemy's victory" was her motto ever since the title "The Toughest Fighter" was given to her.

"We will never know, but whatever happens, I'm sure that we'll stick together, even when the world's against us. One puff for all and all puffs for one." She grinned cheekily, causing Bunny to hit her on the arm.

"Stop quoting the Three Musketeers."

Buttercup caught a small sparkle in her eye as her gaze averted from her wide smile. She resisted the urge to smile, afraid that once the world knew of her happiness, it would try to bring her down again.

"Oh." She glanced down at the plate of burnt pancakes then up to Bubbles' nervous face.

"Sorry?"

* * *

"It's the puffs!"

"I bet they cried all night."

The puffs were met by smiles of sympathy and curious glances. The worst they received were booming laughter and pointing fingers. At one point, Bubbles had almost asked Buttercup whether the "news" had travelled or not, but the green puff was already out of her sight.

'Don't worry Bubbles, keep strong. Take a breath and release.' She chanted in her head.

All the way over to her art classroom, all she did was all that she told herself to do–inhale, exhale, repeat–and by the time she reached her destination, she stood rooted in her place.

Art was a subject she shared with both of them. With a shaky sigh, she placed her quivering hand on the door knob, about to turn it when–

"Bubbles."

Robin stood behind her, gripping a strap of her purple bag. She managed a weak smile which was returned by the nervous puff.

"H-hey..."

"I'm sorry." She was quickly engulfed in the brunette's warm hug, which she instantly returned. "He was such a dick. I'm so sorry I never saw his true side and stuck by your side, instead I went to Hawaii for a whole month and–"

"It's okay." Bubbles muttered, laying her head on her childhood friend's shoulder. "I'm just glad you're here."

"Don't worry, I'll kick him away from you." The brunette vowed.

"You mean... keep." Bubbles laughed whole-heartedly, separating herself from her.

"Yeah. That." Robin grinned in reply, "Come on."

She placed her hand in hers and tugged the blonde puff into the room. Sure, the blue puff heard the nasty things, noticed the sudden shift in air, and saw the nasty sneers but she could perfectly and happily ignore them as long as her best friend's by her side.

To say Bubbles was in her protective and warm bubble was correct.

She was on full alert when she entered the hell they called "school". It was Buttercup's second period, History, a period she shared with... some people she despised. However, everything melted away when she swept her gaze all around the room, every nook and corner.

'No black-haired, green-eyed, devil's personal favorite kids.' She released a sigh she hadn't known she'd been holding slowly, cautiously stepping into a now safe place-but that didn't mean she let her guard down, for she, Buttercup Utonium, had learnt the consequences of letting your guard down in the worst case.

She sat down, sparing the teacher (who was possibly confused because she never came in on time before) a glance and a nod. She stayed ignorant to the chatters of her mindless and heartless classmates, and instead focused on the lesson.

Buttercup Utonium, for once, wasn't a studious person. She never thought that anything that didn't involve strength and physical exercises were of any importance. Of course, that had changed because she had the will to make her sister proudly smile at her from above there.

The thought alone brought her feelings down for a while, but like a switch, it quickly came back up.

'Remember, BC. Don't give in. You're not the old you.' She reminded herself, finding herself on the brink of breaking her promise to herself.

"Mr. Mitchelson. How nice of you to join us." Mr. Adams, the teacher said loudly, breaking Buttercup out of her reverie.

The boy merely chuckled nervously, his eyes spotting her immediately. He sported a wide grin and walked up to her, ignoring the teacher who mumbled something along the lines of: "kids these days..." under his breath before going back to the board, letting the boy off the hook since he had just returned from his vacation.

"Hey Peanut, what's up?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes but smirked anyway, "How's Hawaii?"

Mitch's eyes lit up brightly and his lips stretched for miles, "It was amazing!" He whispered excitedly, like a child on a Christmas morning.

"I still can't believe that I won the tickets. I mean, me? Of all people?" Mitch chuckled at him words.

"Yeah, I guess the guy selling tickets was so desperate." Buttercup snickered quietly under her breath.

She opened her book and started converting the teacher's words into text. Mitch gaped–literally gaped at his best friend. Buttercup never wrote anything down; she'd always slept or pretended to listen if not conversing, playfully battling or throwing paper balls at him.

'Holy cow, what's gotten into her?' He thought.

"Don't give me that look." She muttered under her breath, still focused on her book and the teacher.

"But, BC, you never–"

She cut him off with a glance, "Look, people change okay?"

Realization dawned on him quickly and his eyes widened, "Oh shit! I'm so sorry! I'm the worst friend of all friends in the universe! I can't believe I forgot about–"

"Mr. _Mitchelson_." The teacher reprimanded him, glaring all the way to the back of the classroom. "I'd like it if you'd just pay a little attention, like your friend."

Mitch nodded, "Sorry teach."

Mr. Adams rolled his eyes before returning back to the lesson.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd assume he had brainwashed you to be his Adam's Apple Student." Mitch joked, causing a smile to crack up on Buttercup's friend. "Get it?" He wiggled his brows at her, prompting her to laugh.

"Mr. Mitchelson and Ms. Utonium!"

* * *

"Sandra, would you please stand up and read the poem for us?"

Her heart literally stopped for a second and her pencil dropped on the desk, her eyes focused on a certain spot of the book.

"He watches her grieve, but did nothing to sooth her lament. He smirked at her sobs, and laughed at her tears. All the pain from him added on top of her long list of torture. With her gone like the wind, she could only weep with the silence."

'Please stop.' Breeze thought, feeling her body shook slightly as she put her head under her linked hands, squeezing her eyes shut.

"... and she wilts away, like the blossom petals in spring. She shall be remembered, the girl who gave me–"

Everyone went still at the sound of her chair screeching to a stop as she stood up abruptly, head down and hands on top of her desk.

"Yes, Ms. Utonium?"

"... Can I be excused?"

"What was that?" The teacher frowned.

"M-may I be excused...?" She said as calmly as she could, trying to steady her heartbeats, trying to ignore her classmates' sudden whispers.

The teacher nodded and pulled up a pass, sliding it up on her desk for her to take. She muttered a "thank you" that almost didn't reach the teacher's ears and strode out hastily.

Her head whirled left and right, scanning for somewhere safe. Her glassy eyes spotted a familiar door and quickly strolled toward it, opened it and closed it. She immediately sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees.

All the words in the poems, songs, walls, conversations... they all seemed to be referring to the one thing that had been the causes of her anxiety and lament. She wished she turned deaf, so that she couldn't hear the accusing words.

Music used to light up her day, turn her frown into a smile, and the main reason she could be so darn cheerful all day.

Used to.

Nowadays, the thing she loved seemed to be one of the things that kept bringing unwanted feelings-fear, anxiety, sorrow, self-hatred...

So she decided to stop anything music-related for a while... till she regained just enough strength. That is, if she still held the same passion and love she had for music.

For now, she determined that the soothing silence and the calming darkness were her comforters in day and night. How long would this continue? She didn't know, and she didn't intend to find out.

All she wanted was... for everything to be fine again.

Because suddenly fearing the things you loved, changing into a complete stranger with a different personality, and finding comfort in weird places seemed to be the symptoms that concluded a person was abnormal.

The cold floor sent chills up her spine, and weirdly, she enjoyed it. She inhaled the scent of musky floor cleaner and exhaled slowly, running random thoughts in her mind to keep her ears shut.

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Hearing Bunny's question, Bell couldn't help but roll her eyes though knowing that Bunny only asked–despite knowing very well what her sister's doing since she had eyes, a pair of extra sharp ones at that–as a way to strike a conversation with her.

While Bell was born as the quiet one who stayed in solitude and enjoyed it, Bunny was born as the over-energetic "bunny" of the bunch who was always hopping around, never one to stay still with her mouth shut. That was exactly why when her sister walked past their destination, she followed her.

"Drawing."

"Oh... drawing what?"

This time, Bunny took her sister's silence as an answer which meant: "don't disturb me", so she sighed, staring ahead at the trees lined up behind their school.

"Buck's gonna be upset when she found out we skipped." Bunny stated.

"Then why'd you follow me?"

"I didn't want to be alone." Bunny said in a lower voice this time.

Bell stopped sketching for a nanosecond and muttered a quiet "oh" as a reply before continuing her sketch.

Getting bored, Bunny started to look everywhere for something fun to do, and that's when she spotted Bell's album. Instead of photographs, it's filled with mesmerizing sketches, neatly folded and tucked safely inside. She betted ten bucks that the sketches were also arranged by date.

Sparing a quick glance at the white-haired puff, she quickly snatched it, and after making sure her sister's not looking, she opened it slowly. She flipped a page, two pages, and then she flipped it from the back out of boredom.

She then chose a random one and unfolded the paper, revealing a thundering sketch.

Bunny choked on a gasp and she noticed the way Bell narrowed her eyes at her but returned drawing anyway.

The paper was obviously different in a way, judging by the red marker linings, whereas most sketches were made of black lines, the harsh edges and most importantly, the damp spots that had dried and left a different texture on them.

The spots were small, and of course, it didn't take Bunny a long time to find out why they existed in the first place. She pulled her bottom lip inside and then gnawed on it nervously before folding it again and placing it back into its place.

Bunny blinked at Bell, then to her book, and back to the owner. She knew that each of them had different ways of expressing their feelings; heck, she wasn't surprised that Bell drew to express.

However, the sketch... it gave off a negative feeling that someone like Bunny (who, at times, could be the densest person in the world despite the fact that she's a PowerPuff Girl–she admitted–and PowerPuff Girls were created more specially) could pick up on it. Bunny had come to a realization that put her on an uncomfortable spot.

Bell never released the... devil inside of her; she caged it and downed all her pain and negativity, feeding the devil.

Bunny was worried how Bell would react when she crossed paths with him; the muse (in a not so good way) of her devilish sketches.

The loud snap of a book brought Bunny out of her thinking and the possible scenarios of death came to an abrupt halt. She hesitated before looking up and regretted it afterwards, though there was nothing to regret.

"C'mon. BC's probably waiting for us at the cafeteria with others."

That's when Bunny realized that the bell was ringing.

They paid no attention to the whispers and the spotlight put on them when they walked down the hallways to the cafeteria. They ignored the way silence swallowed the cafeteria for a while and how whispers erupted the second they sat at a table, the farthest one in the corner.

They pulled out their lunchboxes (which Bubbles had made out of fear of going anywhere near them or even appearing in their sight just to grab a tray) and began eating. Everything was okay and they were silent till Buttercup broke it.

"Bubbles, what are we? Children? Definitely not." She muttered, her gaze set still on her apple green lunchbox–which had a fading picture of a pony on it.

A faded pink blush dusted the blonde girl's cheeks as she looked down at her creation.

"Uhmm... I wasn't concentrating well."

"Hey guys, the line was sooo–" Robin's lips parted and she burst out laughing seconds later along with Mitch, trays in hands.

"W-what are you? Kiddies?" Mitch commented, chuckling, taking a seat next to Robin who sat next to Bubbles.

Bubbles lowered her head lower till it reached the table and Bunny coughed.

"You can stop putting more red on poor Bubsie's cheeks now." She chuckled at her own words, along with some of them.

"Oh yeah guys, how's your Hawaiian honeymoon?" Bunny asked, wiggling her brows.

Both mentioned teens looked at each other before looking away. Their cheeks were heated up and Robin kept swinging her legs under the table while Mitch started scratching his head.

"It was nice..." a hint of a smile was beginning to form on Robin's face as she looked at Mitch.

"Yeah..." Mitch replied, catching her eyes too and smiling dazedly.

"Whoa... don't tell me we're gonna be aunties!" Buttercup suddenly exclaimed, making both teens blush furiously.

"No!" Both brunettes shouted simultaneously.

"'Cause that'd be awesome." Buttercup added with a triumphant smirk.

"Put a sock in it, BC." Mitch scoffed, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms and legs altogether.

"Recently, we've agreed that 'Buck' is a more suitable nickname." Bunny smirked, putting a finger in the air diplomatically, glancing mischievously at a growling Buttercup.

"Who did?"

Whilst the bicker continued to rage on, Bell decided to check her phone for entertainment as she'd already emptied her lunchbox. That was when the screen blacked out suddenly. She frowned and pressed some buttons. Then, the screen lit up and a new message notification popped up multiple times till she decided to read it.

|Your sister is not dead.|

Her eyes widened instantly and her phone fell out of her grip, falling on the floor and catching their attention.

"Bell, what's wrong?" Breeze tapped her on the shoulder but she didn't respond.

"Someone knew." Bell said, her voice a mere whisper.

"About...?" Bubbles urged on, feeling anxious.

"Blossom."

Mitch and Robin shared a glance.

"What about her?" The brunette, freckled-faced boy arched a brow.

"She's dead." Buttercup stated emotionlessly.

"_What?!_" Mitch's eyes widened. "You're not... joking?"

Bunny tried to gulp down the weight lodged in her throat, looking at a sniffing Bubbles whose tears started pouring the second Buttercup stated the fact. Breeze twitched here and there and Bell shifted uncomfortably, flickering her gaze back and forth at the people at the table or around.

"But... but you guys are the PowerPuff Girls, h-how...?" Robin was at a loss for words.

"I guess if we have a weakness like, like Antidote X, then... it would make sense if we can die too..." Buttercup's eyes narrowed.

"B-but a car accident?" Her sobs continued and her words barely made any sense as she quickly dived into another crying session.

Buttercup gnawed on her bottom lip before she pulled it into her mouth. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, it was the sad truth. No matter how irrational it sounded, it happened.

Bell's gaze flickered down at the screen.

|Meet me in the backyard where you and Bunny were at. I'll explain everything. You need my help as much as I need yours... the twelve of you.|


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Can any of you readers see this cute, blue snowflake? -**

**No? Just me?**

* * *

_"No… I can't do it!"_

_"You need to." Her pastel blue eyes sliced into her, "Turn the reason back around. Imagine… what they did to you and your sisters… remember Blossom?"_

_Her eyes flashed and an electric yellow light surrounded her. _

* * *

_"Control it. You must never let it get to you. Remember your goals and do not forget who you are."_

_She snapped her eyes close, inhaling. She's a fighter. She can fight the demons inside of her._

_She had to. _

* * *

_"Use everything as motivation, but do not let anything blind you. Do not let your guard down and control falter. Believe in yourself, and don't take a step back into the past, closer to her. You want to bury her. You must." Her voice commanded, softly but sternly._

_She fisted her hands and let all those bottled up emotions–rage, sadness, loneliness, hatred–envelope her and bring out the demon buried deep within… the one she desperately tried to hide. _

* * *

_"You don't only play. You also play with them. Confuse them. Do not let them get to you. Don't let them see through you."_

_A bright smile bloomed on her face, her eyes wide and posture idle but only both of them knew the truth. _

* * *

_"I'm sorry."_

_It was an apology, but her blank face, her half-lidded, dull blue eyes… they said it all._

_"…But I'm done being the victim." _

* * *

_They stood in front of her and she couldn't help but smile proudly at them. They'd rebuild the walls those boys broke down before. The only difference was… the walls wouldn't be so easy to break now and she's pretty sure the girls knew what their mission was and were aware of what they must do, which was good…_

_Her eyes narrowed and she raised her hand, signaling the last battle to start._

_… because they needed all the power to stop him._

* * *

Mouths dropped and whistles penetrated the quiet hallway as gasps resonated from one person to another, and mouths started running marathons. If they thought the reactions they witnessed when they first returned were bad enough, then the commotion they caused were much worse.

Not every student at Pokey Oaks High might be able to pinpoint the differences between the PowerPuff Girls from the previous day and now, especially those who didn't see the puffs the day before–

Like the RowdyRuff Boys and their lovely companions, the PowerPunk Girls.

"Geez. The attention-whores are at it again." Bizarre snorted, clinging onto Beast's limp arm tightly as she glared at the center of attention, her nails involuntarily digging into his skin, causing him to glance down at her.

Blase had her arms crossed, her usual bored expression present.

Brazen grinned darkly as she took steps forwards, whilst the PowerPuff Girls stopped and made a straight, horizontal line in front of them without even meaning to do it. You could say it's the bond they shared.

"Well, well. Look what the tornado brought in." Brazen said in a genuinely nice tone, but they all knew she loved to pretend.

Berserk's calculating eyes scanned each girl from their heads to their toes. Something was definitely up.

Buttercup, the brute of the group, had an unusually serene look on her face and her aura was indeed calm, so she wasn't pretending. Her dark, raven hair was also longer than the punk remembered; it almost reached her mid-back, and if the punk remembered correctly, she hated long hair because it often got in her way when battling. She was also wearing a pale green cap.

Bubbles was popping and chewing on a pink bubblegum as her half-open, baby blue eyes stared ahead at their archenemies in boredom. The puff's shiny, blonde hair that irked Brat more than ever was now shoulder-length, and it was only slightly wavy at the end, a side bang covered the left side of her forehead. The way she dressed today with her baby blue skirt that has silver zippers on the sides and long, high-heeled boots and blue crop top, also a white jacket with brown, furry collar showed a bold and modern style, compared to the feminine and cute, but trendy outfits she used to wear.

Bunny had a neutral look, her pose idle and her hands tucked into her pockets. Bizarre smirked at this, thinking she's still affected by the break-up. However, inside, Bunny was the one smirking wider.

Breeze looked tired from plainly being there as she casted a tired look at the floor, which was uncharacteristic in Brazen's opinion, as the puff she was born to hate and had hated since they first battled usually had a bright aura around her and she never lacked excitement and spirit. Breeze looked like she'd slept enough, though.

Brazen could only assume it was because of her broken-hearted state. Knowing her archenemy being–and probably staying for a long time–in that state caused her insides to burst with joy.

Bell had cut her hair it seemed, as it now reached her mid-back and was wavy, her bangs held back by a black headband. She wore a white dress that had two layers lined with small, black ruffles in the skirt part, and the thick straps on her shoulders were covered by black, lacy cardigan. Her feet were clad in ballet flats. Her dressing seemed a bit too… feminine for the usual Bell that Blase knew.

"Punks, Ruffs." Buttercup nodded before she and her gang walked past them, as if they were non-existent.

Butch who had been anticipating tears from the moment he laid eyes on her, or at least a glare, a scream, a punch. Something, really. But all he'd received wasn't even a stink eye, it was a mere glance.

A simple glance that showed Buttercup was unaffected by his betrayal, that his assumptions were all wrong and he hated it. He hated losing and it's a trait he shared with his counterpart, and since the plan failed, he officially lost. But something was definitely amiss. It was clearly written in the auras of those girls.

Something was off.

Brick noticed the absence of the bow-topped, fiery-haired girl that mimicked his evil girlfriend, Berserk, and couldn't help but feel odd, especially since her sisters had turned into completely different people.

They went out for one day and already felt like they missed something huge.

"Heh. Putting on masks and pretending to be unaffected… how cute." Blast smirked, sliding his hands into his pants pockets.

Boomer scoffed, "She should've spring some tears up and run away, or if she's putting on a mask then it'll certainly break quickly. She's always been the most emotional one out of those bitches."

Later, after an idea struck, Boomer grinned devilishly. "What do you say we break those masks since we didn't get quite the reactions we wanted?"

"Boom," Butch chuckled, "you couldn't have been smarter."

Boomer rolled his eyes at him.

* * *

Bubbles's manicured finger tapped the desk impatiently, eyeing some gossipers once in a while before rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Despite the fact that they were superheroes with tremendous powers didn't stop her classmates from treating her like any ordinary girl. Then again, she wouldn't want suck-ups anyway.

"Look, it's Boomer." A girl behind her said a little too loudly, but she knew it was intended for her to hear.

Thankfully, she only shared this class with only one of the two people in a relationship that was made in hell. But of course, he just had to be the most anticipated resident of the class.

"Blondie." His voice was carried to her ears as his chair scraped against the floor.

His warm breath teased her ear, signing that his presence was even nearer at this point. "Don't you miss me, ba–?"

"Save it for your bitch, Booms." She cut him off easily, snapping her head to look at him directly in the eyes.

This. This was exactly what they came to see. Two legendary exes up against each other when they used to be beside each other and supporting the other–well, only she did all of that sincerely, so she supposed it didn't count.

"I don't know when BC'll get the message across, but I hope you'd be able to use all of your brains like before, considering how small it is. It's still a wonder how you planned it… or maybe you didn't." She smirked. "I bet your brothers did all the job and you just had to execute it."

She had the nerve to mock his intelligence when she hadn't been sharp enough to pick up on the clues herself. That made him chuckle.

"You have to admit that I charmed you _good_ and last time I checked, you weren't clever enough and was quick to trust us." Boomer sighed, as if the very thing he just stated was a burden.

"Too be honest, that made it too... easy for me." A satisfied smirk stretched his lips.

The pairs of eyes hungrily drinking in the drama were also pleased and their ears couldn't have been happier.

Bubbles chuckled, leaning back into her seat. "Lucky for you since you weren't that capable, huh? It was a measle job and I had to say..."

She tapped her lips with her pointer finger, eyes faraway as she pretended to ponder. "It was good, but not as great as your brothers' result."

He scoffed, directing a glare towards her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you couldn't even understand the meaning?" Her eyes glinted. "It means that your brothers did _better_ than you. They left a bigger impact unlike you. The proof? I'm already over our break-up."

She let out a contented smirk when she heard a sharp whistle pierce the air and excited voices praising her newfound courage. She was even more gleeful seeing that Boomer could only seethe in his seat and scowl at her.

The teacher came in, oblivious to the tension. Bubbles didn't speak to him anymore and if he did want to strike a conversation with her, she didn't notice.

* * *

"Breeze? Breeze Utonium?" The teacher looked around, prompting some of his students to turn their heads too. "Absent, huh."

Blast ran his left hand through his dark hair, his electrifying eyes scanning the room for any sign of the energetic girl.

He wondered if she was simply too scared to face him again.

The thought made him smirk.

* * *

He scowled at the boy who bumped into his shoulder, his red eyes flashing dangerously and signifying the consequences the boy would face very soon.

Then her voice rang out through the hallway, saving him from his doom.

"Brick."

Brick turned to see the black-haired puff strode toward him, letting the boy escape. He smirked at what was currently happening.

"Butters. Have you mistaken me for you ex?"

"No. I need to talk to you," her eyes flickered around the noisy crowd before she added, "in private."

He tilted his head and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans, amused. "Why, what could such a _mature_ puff want from a bad guy like me? A duel? That'd be interesting, but I'm not always in the mood for a battle unlike Butch. Some of us have more important things to get to."

She latched onto his forearm, a firm look set on her face. "This _is_ important, Brick."

He shot her a disgruntled look, but he couldn't say anything else because the ground vibrated beneath their feet, the watching onlookers panicking when it quivered at a dizzying speed.

Brick and Buttercup had hovered above the ground at this point and they both shared a look before approaching the nearest window.

A gargantuan pair of silver claws reached the surface and a Cimmerian growl emerged from the hole they dug. Not later than a second, its leathery, red skin that clung to its jagged rib cage came to view as it rose up. On top of its body was a hovering skull of a snake with two large canines reaching its mandible.

Three black horns sat atop its scaly head and its sickening yellow eyes darted around the place. It let out one last roar before jumping out of its hole, leaving earthquakes in its wake as it dashed away.

The scene had caught Brick by surprise. It's been years since the last monster attack.

"What the fuck _is_ that thing?" Brick muttered to himself, catching purple and white trails heading to it, followed by a blue one.

Realization dawned on him as he stared at Buttercup's calm face. It was like she wasn't surprised to see it, but rather expected it.

"Does it have anything to do with your important talk?" He accused, his eyes narrowing.

"The short version: the twelve of us have to work together because the Ender is coming." She stated, eyes gauging his reaction.

He snorted in disbelief, not that she expected anything else. "The end of the world is coming? That's your excuse?"

"I'll explain later, but we need to–"

"Where's Pinky? Isn't it her job to explain things?" He demanded.

Buttercup fell silent. Then she flew away without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The wifi just got back and I forgot to edit the document before posting it, but it's done now. Enjoy!**

* * *

"_Hiiiyah_!" Bunny let go of the tail of the monster, but it was quick to return on its feet, roaring at her.

"How useful." Bubbles deadpanned at the brunette, causing her to huff and cross her arms.

"Not my fault it was an agile snake-for-head lizard! I would've turned him into a pet had he been smaller..." she muttered to herself.

"Not the time, Bunny." Bell scolded her, whacking her at the back of her head.

"Oww! Hey, why am I treated like a child?" She whined.

"Because you _act like a child_!" Bubbles said as she blasted a series of blue light at the lizard's eyes, causing it to step back and growl.

"Need a hand, ladies?" The sound of knuckles crunching alerted them and Butch smirked at their faces. "I wouldn't mind testing my strength on this little fella."

"Always so dependable." Breeze muttered to herself.

"Did that mean BC already got redhead to agree?" Bunny asked, floating languidly in the air.

Bell narrowed her eyes at her, grabbed her by the feet, swung her around, and then threw her at the lizard. Bunny's hand reached out to blast its eyes and she shot a few more balls on its bones.

"Butch! Palms up!" She yelled.

Butch had no time to think, quickly blasting the lizard one more time before he put his hands up, palms facing up. Bunny's palms met his and she flipped into the air and landed on the ground with her two feet, raising her arms up as a finishing touch.

Butch smirked in amusement while Bell clapped emotionlessly.

"I'd trade you for Beast in the entertainment department, but he's a pretty great sparring partner." He chuckled to himself.

Bunny huffed, "I can be great too! Watch!" She prepared an amethyst ball sizzling with power between her two palms, her eyes glowed white before she fired at the monster.

Butch whistled, laughing out loud. The sisters pitched in next, each shooting at the monster at a relentless speed and vigorous strength.

Butch flew back to watch the beautiful combustion of lights–or as he'd like to call it, fireworks. He felt a presence behind him and turned, smirking at the jade-eyed girl who's staring intently at the ongoing battle.

"Not joining in, Butters?"

She spared him a glance, shaking her head. "They can handle it. It's not that pesky bugs that's bothering me."

"Looks like you can handle it just fine." Brick flew down to meet them on the ground, watching with piqued interest as the monster let out one final roar before falling on the ground and evaporating in a dark red smoke.

**_GROOOOOOOAAARRR!_**

Screams filled up the air and the puffs looked at Brick, Bunny taking it upon herself to say:

"You jinxed it." She pointed accusatively.

He shot her an incredulous eyebrow, his brothers landing beside him.

"Well, you in?" Buttercup asked again.

Brick crossed his arms, "You'd better be telling the truth or you'll be sorry, puff."

"I have nothing to gain by lying to you." She retorted before facing her sisters. "Let's go."

They all blasted away, headed for their precious city, the source of commotion and critical situations.

"What did she want with us?" Blast inquired.

"They wanted us to work together to save the world from Ender." Brick said. "Short to say."

Hovering in mid-air gave them the advantage of mapping out the damage the city received and the bear-like monster who caused it. Breeze caught sight of another monster wrecking havoc northwest from where they were.

"Bad teddy." Bunny teased, earning an angry growl.

"I'll take care of the other one." Breeze announced.

"I'll come with you." Bell stated and they flew away.

"I'll blast its eyes. You two okay with attacking it head-on?" Bubbles questioned, eyeing each puff.

Bunny shrugged, "I'm fine with that."

Buttercup dived in, a green light gathered around her right fist headed for the monster's head while Bubbles had it confused and blinded. Bunny had flown up straight to the sky and plummeted on top of the bear's head with a powered-up fist.

"That's a pretty nice strategy. Even Blossom would be jealous." Butch comments.

All three girls suddenly halt their movements. Bubbles lower her fists.

All three of them glance at him over their shoulders.

He arches a brow, "What? Not like she's here to hear it."

Bubbles and Bunny's steel gazes slide to Buttercup who shakes her head briefly.

"Just get ready, Butcher Boy." Bunny stated simply with a smile.

It swung its red leathered fist randomly, almost catching Bunny who quickly seized her chance and tried blasting it at the chest as much as possible while its hands weren't around.

It took her three more blasts and a combined punch from Buttercup and Bubbles to knock it out.

It fell down onto the cracked street and vanished in rolls of dark brown smoke.

"It just disappeared like it's out of energy." Bunny deadpanned. "No blood? What a _boar_."

Bubbles just stared at her and BC shook her head. "No, just no."

Bunny pouted, "You guys ain't fun enough! I'm going after Breeze and Bell."

She stopped in mid-air to think and then grinned to herself. "Nice, it has a ring to it."

And off she went in a quick flash of purple.

"Beast, Blaze, Blast!" Brick hollered, causing the trio to come closer to them. "Go help your exes."

"What?" Blast echoed his surprise.

"Just do it." Brick said.

Beast and Blaze looked at each other before following their exes' trace.

"I wonder if that had something to do with counterparts." Buttercup muttered to herself.

Brick shrugged his shoulders, "You didn't tell me which ruffs you wanted."

"No, your idea sounds good. I can't believe it didn't cross my mind."

Brick narrowed his eyes and looked at her weirdly.

Meanwhile, Beast and Blaze quickly found Bunny floating above a maze of buildings, looking around for something. Suddenly, she was pulled down by an invisible force and the ruffs dove down to find Breeze covering her mouth and Bell peeking over the edge, spying quietly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Blast grumbled.

Breeze glared at him, "Shut it."

"Look at that guy." They all leant over to see what Bell was pointing at.

A dark-haired boy with light green eyes bent down to pick up a familiar puppy and as if he sensed them, he looked up and smirked.

"PowerPuff Girls, surrender now! Townsville will soon be ours!" He yelled, throwing the puppy high into the air with abnormal strength.

Breeze went after the puppy but stopped when it let out a series of panicked barks and started convulsing. Its muscles expanded and thickened, its face contorted into the face of a monster with dark veins all over and sharp fur that resembled needles.

Its eyes snapped open revealing crazed, yellow eyes.

"Breeze, look out!"

It brought its paw down to crush Breeze, but she avoided it swiftly and retreated to the group in a flash.

"He's gotta be the one… monsterizing all the animals around town!" Bunny exclaimed excitedly.

"Breeze, attack him from the middle. Bunny, hit him straight on. Go!" Bell blasted the monster straight in the eyes, giving enough time for Breeze and Bunny to execute the plan.

The three Ruffs watch as Bell dove down and landed in front of the Ender.

"So… are we doing this the nice way or the rough way?"

The guy barked out a genuine laugh, "There's only one way this fight will end."

He mustered up a ball of energy and clenched his teeth. His eyes began glowing just before he thrusted his arms forward.

Beast narrowed his eyes as Bell flew straight into a building. She raised her head, rubbed the sore spot, and glared at the cackling maniac before zooming across the street and landing a strong punch on his face.

"Fuck! Go easy on the nose!" The guy clamped his nose, one eye wincing in pain.

"So–"

A sleeping puppy dropped in front of Bell's face and she caught it in her arms reflexively.

"This one's just a small fry?" Bunny and Breeze's eyes were gleaming as they seized the guy, causing a shiver to erupt and run down his back.

"W-watch it, Puff! This isn't the end of it!" He grabbed something from his pocket and threw it in the air.

"Ooh, another one." Bunny clapped her hands and smiled widely.

The glowing sphere enlarged into a familiar form in the air before completely turning into a giant serpent hissing down at them.

"Hi." Bunny greeted it before shooting laser beams at its eyes.

It hissed, bent its head backwards, and its sharp tail came forward, smashing a building in its path.

"Hah! You completely missed me!"

"Shut your mouth and stop playing around, Bunny!" Breeze caught the tip of its tail and started pulling it.

"Bunny, get ready for some sashimi."

Bunny frowned at Bell. "But I'm not hungry yet."

Bell shot beams at the snake's head before projecting a white, gleaming rope that constricted the snake's head and cut off its air supply. She stretched the snake along with Breeze who was starting to sweat.

"Ready?" Breeze gritted her teeth.

Bunny gaped. "Oooh… this is gonna be nasty."

She rose high up in the sky, took a deep breath, and bowed, "Sorry, Snakey."

Then, she raised her palm and charged it before rocketing at the speed of light straight to the middle of the snake's belly.

"Fucking disgusting." Blast grumbled as blood spattered everywhere, unconsciously floating away.

"Why did you kill the snake but not the puppy?" Blaze inquired.

"Oh, we tried to blow it up, but it came back to normal instead. In fact, the snake was SO easy, it felt like you haven't prepared-where did that guy go?!" Bunny zapped all over the spot the Ender guy was last seen at.

"Oh, that. He ran away." Blast answered nonchalantly.

"And you just watched him go?!" Bell came up to him with an incredulous expression.

"We're not on your side. We're the bad guys here, too, in case you forgot." Blast smirked maliciously, averting his eyes to Breeze as he said the last sentence.

Although he braced himself to hold back her kick, it still wasn't enough to stop him from flying backwards and crashing into a billboard.

He groaned and grasped the back of his head, cursing the silver Puff. When he opened his eyes, Beast and Blaze had just gotten to him.

"Did you notice anything different about them?" Beast inquired.

"It's just an act, Beast." Blaze rolled his eyes. "You're falling in their trap."

"No…" Blast showed him his palm where a drop of red substance trailed down before it fell to the asphalt below them. "Something's different."

* * *

"Let's just give it up already." Bunny whined. "He's probably far away at who-knows-where now."

"Then go home. I'll patrol the area around here." Bell stated, irked.

"See ya at home then!"

Bunny and Breeze took off and she rolled her eyes. She continued her search for the Ender, checking every possible hiding places, but no. He had disappeared into thin air.

The city of Townsville was quiet as all the civilians had gone into a safer place. The mayor had probably sounded the alarm. Decades of experiencing monster attacks had enabled them to memorize the drill.

She suddenly thought of Blossom while enjoying the eeriely peaceful ambiance and her heart started beating faster. Without wasting more time, she headed to her resting place.

A figure with silky, greenish blue hair that flowed to her calves was standing in front of the tomb stone when she arrived.

The person turned around and smiled at her.

"Minerva."

"Bell. You must've chased the Ender off. I can't sense them anymore."

Bell hesitated before answering, "Actually, he got away because of the boys."

"Doesn't matter. He will return soon. They won't rest until they've achieved their goals… you must learn to cooperate with the RowdyRuff Boys."

Bell thinned her lips. "I know that."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: EUREKA! This is the fourth time I try to edit this chapter. FanFiction's just not as easy as Wattpad. -_-"**

**Sorry guys, been working on my other story and this one slipped out of my mind. I'm the type to start a new story when there's still a pile of others waiting to be finished, mostly consisting of one chapter each. HAHA! Anyway, stay safe and enjoy, guys. XOXO**

* * *

Bunny was laid on the living room sofa, staring at the ceiling aimlessly when the door opened and Bell's silver hair flew into her sight. She sat down on the armchair and leaned back, crossing her arms peacefully on top of her belly–contrary to her previously flamed-up post-battle state.

"So, found what you're looking for?" Bunny switched the TV on and the news channel popped up instantly.

_"And once again the day is saved, thanks to the PowerPu_–"

She flipped to the next channel, which just happened to be a cartoon with a bunny jumping on the screen. and because she felt like it was her calling, she put the remote down.

"No, but I ran into Minerva at Blossom's grave." She answered curtly.

"What's she doing?" She inquired curiously.

"She said she's restoring Blossom's original body and keeping it safe for us until we find her soul. I'm glad, though. I thought that Ender had gotten to it first, so I hurried there."

Bunny's smirk widened the longer Bell talked about her innermost thoughts, "You know, I'm starting to like this new side of you."

"Don't get used to it." Was Bell's blatant reply.

The front door burst open and a few other streaks whizzed into the room, one going straight to the kitchen.

"Bell, where were you?" As Buttercup voiced the same questions she had answered for Bunny, Bell groaned.

"Damn, I hate explaining it twice."

_"BUTTERCUP!" _A rough voice hollered, sending them into an extra wary mode.

"Why, the RowdyRuff Boys, welcome to our humble abode." Bunny greeted them coolly. "So glad of you to barge into our house uninvited."

Brick ignored her and marched up to Buttercup with a glare. "Where's Pinky?"

Buttercup seized all of the boys' stoic expressions, even Butch looked dead serious as he frowned.

"Why are you suddenly looking for her?" She asked calmly, watching Brick's face harden.

"Just answer me, where is she? There's something I need to discuss with her."

"She's not here at the moment." Bell answered rigidly, trying to school her expression.

Keyword:_ trying._

Brick took a couple of steps toward her and lowered his voice, "Where is she then?"

"Look, Brick, you'll meet her soon. Why is it that you have to meet with her immediately?" Bunny said lazily.

Brick suddenly let out a dry chuckle, "So you're saying I'm gonna die soon?"

"I think you already have an idea of where she is." Bubbles quipped.

Brick's shoulders tensed even more if possible and he clenched his jaw as he glared at the blonde Puff. Just then, Breeze came out of the kitchen with a toast hanging from her mouth and a glass of orange juice.

She arched a curious brow at the Ruffs, then looked to her sisters for explanation before returning her gaze to the boys after getting no response from them. Realizing how much tension had filled the room, she made herself comfortable floating mid-air as if she's actually sitting on an invisible chair. She definitely didn't want to be near the center of tension.

Brick's sharp eyes slid onto Bell who suddenly had an ominous feeling creeping into her chest, "Why did Blaze see you at a grave with Blossom's name on the tombstone?"

Breeze took little nibbles of her toast and Bell frowned, her eyes widening considerably. Bubbles rolled her eyes and plopped down on a nearby chair. Buttercup stayed silent.

"We thought she's dead and buried her body there." Bunny answered after some time.

"You buried her alive?" Boomer exclaimed, shocked. "So you killed her?"

Bunny almost laughed at his sheer stupidity.

"She can't die from suffocation... she's not a normal human." Beast argued.

"You think we can't die just because we're made of chemical X? I thought so too." Bunny smiled serenely. "Now we've found something that could kill us... which means you could get killed, too, if you're not careful against it."

Butch scratched his head, frowning. "So is she alive or what?!"

"Just tell me what happened to her." Brick's low voice had a bit of a rough edge that Bunny caught onto fast.

She burst out laughing suddenly, "Why? Are you trying to convince yourself that she's still alive? What are you going to do if she's _dead_?"

"Stop, Bunny." Buttercup grumbled. "It's hard to explain, but Blossom got into an accident caused by an Ender and lost her soul."

"An_ accident_?" Blast muttered in disbelief.

"If Antidote X can strip us off our powers, then Ender is beyond that. They can actually kill us."

Brick raised his head and stared at her for a few seconds that ticked by slowly. "So. She's gone."

There was a silence thay followed his statement and it acted like some sort of confirmation that would never come out of the girls' mouths.

_"But you can still revive her."_

The wind blew into the house and curled around the boys. Minerva's ethereal figure began manifesting at her feet. When she had fully appeared in her airy gown, the corners of her teal eyes crinkled as she smiled.

Bunny swished her hands inward with a flair before extending them to the side. "Boys, Minerva."

"Greetings, RowdyRuff Boys. A pleasure to meet you."

"She... looks like a ghost." Blast said weirdly at the same time Butch said "goddess".

The green Ruff stepped up, put a hand on his heart, and bowed in front of her, "And a pleasure to meet you... Ma–"

He tried reaching for her hand, but froze when his fingers went past her idle palm. In a millisecond, Butch had retracted himself to his original position.

"She's a ghost!"

"No, she's not. She's an angel from another dimension. She has this surreal existence because she fought the Ender before coming here and lost some of her powers and physical body." Buttercup deadpanned.

Minerva's eyes narrowed and had a faraway look as she reminisced. "I had barely managed to save the core of Blossom's soul from their hands. Unfortunately, they succeeded in crushing the rest into pieces and blowing them away."

"So we have to piece her back together before we can work as a complete team and take the Ender down before he destroys the world." Bell continued for Minerva.

Boomer raised his hand, "Who the fuck is Ender? That's such an original name for a big, bad guy who wants to... what, end the world?"

"You will meet him soon."

"You need the twelve of us." Brick started leveling his gaze with hers, brows furrowed deeply. "To fight a single guy?"

"He's that powerful." Bubbles paused as she considered something. "Well, he had minions too, and some of them were actually pretty strong."

"He's like the final boss, the mastermind, the-"

"We get it." Blast cut Bunny off in annoyance.

Blaze noticed Minerva starting to fade, "But how did they get here? Is there no one else in your dimension who can help?" He drawled lazily.

"He escaped from his prison with some help from this world, but his body is still there. As for help, only souls are left in my dimension." Her eyes flicked to the ground, somewhat distraught. "But it's not too late. We just need to capture him."

Bell shot up suddenly, "Wait, alive?"

Butch gaped dramatically, "Puff, did I hear that right?"

"Why put something like _that_ in a cage? He could've escaped again." She had a blatant look of distaste on her face at one point. "That's so tiresome."

"There's one in Him's lair." Minerva said quickly. "Find it."

"Wait, what are we looking for and where's his lair?" Bunny frowned.

"Him the..."

"In the what?" Bell went closer to her only for the figure to disintegrate right in front of her eyes; she groaned. "Oh no."

"Now what?" Blast asked, ticked.

"Now we wait for several hours before her energy refills." Bubbles explained.

"So she wants us to find something in his lair?" Boomer scratched his head.

Bell hummed to herself in thought, "But she never mentioned anything about his lair's exact location. I'm pretty sure she said he's still in his original dimension... which brings us to the next question, how do we get to their dimension if even Minerva doesn't have enough energy to teleport us?"

"Him can teleport." Breeze said nonchalantly, brushing bread crumbs off of her palms.

Beast leaned on the wall, "He might be able to create portals to another dimension."

"Only one way to find out." Buttercup muttered.

"... And I thought Butch's room was a pig's sty." Bunny crinkled eyes and pinched her nose, ignoring the green Ruff's dubious glance.

"You've been in my room?" He asked before smirking. "Find anything interesting?"

"Couldn't even last three seconds in there." Bunny gagged, the memory still fresh in her mind. "How did you survive in there, Buck?"

Buttercup slapped the back of her head mercilessly.

"Looks like someone already got to Him first." Bell crossed her arms, kicking a nearby magazine away.

Brick tensed suddenly. "Wait. Be quiet."

Bunny stepped on a chip and he spun around to glare at her. She merely shrugged innocently. Bell mindlessly threw a door against the wall and entered what seemed to be the bathroom.

Brick cursed under his breath and massaged his forehead. Then he snapped his eyes open when his ears picked up a familiar sound that sounded so faraway when it felt close to him.

He floated into a hallway, leaving the rest to look around the crime scene-if he could even call an exorcism one. Faintly, he heard Bell say "I wonder what method they used to kill him."

A cold wisp of wind twirled around him and he stopped in front of a room, feeling the temperature drop. However, the light in the room seemed brighter. Upon closer inspection, he found that the source of light was at a corner of the room, obscured under a stack of pillows and blankets.

He threw each item away and started digging, the voice closer than ever now. It was dancing around his ears, urging him to dig faster.

The tips of his fingers grazed a smooth, frigid surface and he paused before he lifted the object up with two fingers.

It was a snowflake no bigger than the palm of his hand. He wondered why it didn't melt.

_BANG_!

His head snapped to the door.

"There's nothing here." Bell sighed, plopping down on an armchair.

"Wonder where Pops went off to." Blast muttered, floating around the place.

"Told you he's dead." Bell repeated, a hint of provocation showing in her tone.

"What is wrong with you?" Blaze narrowed his eyes, trying to come up with a reason behind his ex's sudden change of personality.

"What? Can't accept it?" She challenged, her voice quiet but steady, waiting to pounce on the wrong word.

"What did you find, Brick?" Bubbles questioned, then her eyes travelled to his glowing fist. "What's that?"

He revealed the fragile thing in his hand, the only clue in the tattered home of the devil.

"A snowflake?" Breeze furrowed her brows.

In flash of light and familiar patterns of wind, Minerva appeared again, though in a much more translucent form.

"Whoa!" Blast exclaimed out of surprise.

_"May I?" _Her voice sounded distant.

Brick extended his arm to her and she lifted both arms. The snowflake was engulfed in a colored light that fluctuated before it unfurled into a wider shape and materialized slowly.

_"Now... she can wake up."_ Minerva's voice was of a whisper.

Blossom's body hovered in mid-air and Brick stared at her pale face in disbelief. The body began falling as Minerva closed her eyes and dissipated once more. Brick extended his arms reflexively and she fell into his arms.

The Puffs, the Ruffs... both parties affixed their intense gazes on the redhead. Her chest heaved, but her sisters exhaled.

"She's alive." Breeze stated, a soft smile blooming on her face.

"No." Bell murmured softly, floating closer to tuck a stray strand of Blossom's hair away. "She's home."

"Are you going to take her or what?" Brick asked, irked.

Bell looked up at him then smiled, "Oh, that's okay. You can carry her back. She's already in your arms, after all."

With that, the sisters followed Bell's diminishing streak. Brick turned his glare onto his brothers.

"Dude, your ex, your problem." Blast said easily, floating towards the door, the other Ruffs joining him without another glance at their leader–except for Butch who smirked at him and ended up getting hit with a beam in his face.


End file.
